Temporary Frustrations
by herpaderpproductions
Summary: OOC version of Life Goes On Chapter 4. Saya's class goes on a field trip and David makes sure that Haji can stay nearby. While the teacher plays the protective guardian of his students, Haji is trying to find some time alone with his Queen.
1. Prologue: David Does the Dirty Work

A/N: Way back when I was first brainstorming for Life Goes On this was what I thought would be fun to write as a field trip chapter. Alas, I didn't end up writing it this way, partially because I felt that it would require too much OOCness on the part of Saya and Haji. Then again, I suppose I could use the cop out that it's closer to Haji's more combative, primal, and assertive manga personality. Basically, they're less reserved/obedient and a bit more willing to break the rules for each other. Saya will have a bit more assertiveness like in the manga, but none of that annoyingly pervasive turned up to 11 angst they gave her.

I love the romantic, sweet, shy relationship from the show, but I also think that the Zoo's mischievous personalities should show up now that peace has (mostly) returned.

This takes place at the same point as the field trip in Life Goes On, so Saya and Haji have reconciled their relationship and are currently living at Kai's.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Prologue: David Does the Dirty Work**

David sat at a desk talking to Saya's homeroom teacher. Technically, he felt that this would be Kai's job as her guardian, but since he represented her current legally listed father (Joel), he was the one forced to do this.

"So why does he need to have access to her during the field trip?" The teacher asked.

"He is her personal assistant and bodyguard, hired by her father," David explained.

"If there is any threat, we would prefer she not come on the field trip," the teacher responded. David realized he could have left the bodyguard part out to no effect. That was simply one of the titles Joel gave Haji as an excuse to accompany Saya.

"There is no present threat," David confirmed.

"Then why is he needed?"

"Due to her health condition, it has been recommended that she be checked nightly for any adverse symptoms. He is the one that helps Saya's physician assure her health, and will accompany her to a hospital if necessary."

"So he will only need to see her for a few minutes at night?"

"Yes," David said. "However, she may leave in the middle of the night to see him."

The teacher stared at David with wide eyes. "That may be appropriate in America, however that is not appropriate here."

"You may accompany her if you wish," David replied. "She was present for the unfortunate deaths of her father and brother. Due to the various challenges caused by the death of her adoptive father, Saya was unable to be with Kai and Riku the entire time. Haji was the only one with her the entire time. Therefore, when she has nightmares about the incidents, she prefers to talk to him about it before returning to bed."

"So he will do nothing inappropriate?"

"He is a very straight-laced man," David said. He couldn't guarantee anything – not with Haji and Saya leaving Julia's guest room in such a bad state during their 'reconciliation' as Julia liked to call it.

"And he will not even look at any of our students in an inappropriate manner?"

"No," David said with no hesitation. "He is in a committed relationship and has no interest in anyone other than his current partner."

"Will that partner be with him?"

David remained silent. This made the teacher suspicious immediately,

"What is his relationship with Saya?"

"They are not dating," David lied. It was technically true – going on dates wasn't part of their interactions, but he wouldn't say they were in a more serious romantic relationship. "He is committed to her well-being, and that is all it is." That didn't convince the teacher that Haji's partner wasn't Saya.

"So there's no risk of them doing anything inappropriate with each other?" the teacher asked for confirmation.

"I would be shocked if Haji did anything improper," David said. He would trust Haji not to do anything to threaten Saya's reputation, but he wasn't about to tell the teacher that he was beginning to wonder if Haji was bold enough to ask Saya for a quickie over a long night. Haji's mischievous personality had shown appearances here and there when it came to Saya, and Saya did not seem to be upset by it; if anything it made her happier.

The teacher made some notes and nodded. "You have no doubts about this? You would trust your daughter or wife with him?"

"None at all," David paused for effect. "I would trust him in any situation. That's why Joel hired him. As I said, he's very straight-laced and well-mannered."

"And I will not see him outside of his meetings with Saya and the travel?"

"No."

"And if something goes wrong your boss will accept full responsibility?"

"Yes."

"I will allow it, but know that he'll be under scrutiny throughout the trip. If there is one step out of line, he's gone."

"Of course," David replied. "Thank you for your time." He bowed and left the room.

As soon as David was out, the teacher asked himself what he had gotten into.

* * *

 **A/N:** Prologue is complete! Updates will be somewhat slow, so bear with me here.


	2. Day 1: And so it Begins

**A/N:** So here's the beginning. I don't know how many chapters this will be or if I'll get it into a one-shot. I'm writing this before I write the story, so I can't tell you that. It depends on how long this is stretched to.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 1: And so it Begins…**

Haji sat awkwardly in a seat at the airport. He tried not to steal glances at Saya, instead attempting to focus on a book about Bach's early compositions. It wasn't just that he had a desire as her chevalier to keep her safe, it was also that since they had consummated the fresh start of their relationship he had begun to notice how sexy she looked in her school uniform.

He didn't have a fetish for school girls by any means, but he had come to love that it covered just as little as any other modern garment. It was indecent by his standards, but it certainly highlighted some of his favorite features of her body while maintaining a more traditional silhouette with a tight waist. That was everything he could hope for. Well, he could hope that other men wouldn't look at her indecently while she was wearing such a revealing ensemble, but that was beside the point.

"Haji Goldschmidt?" A voice brought him away from his book. He looked up to see a man he assumed to be Saya's teacher. David had warned him about the teacher's severe concerns about Haji's character. That didn't scare Haji, but he would have to make sure nothing that could possibly be misconstrued happened so that he could remain with Saya throughout the trip.

"I am," Haji greeted. The teacher recalled David's warning that Haji was a soft-spoken man, so he would have to probe deeper with questions.

"Are you happy for the trip?" The teacher asked in English. Haji decided not to question his word choice, as he obviously had little practice speaking English.

Haji didn't answer his question. "We can use Japanese if you are more comfortable with it," Haji told him. The teacher seemed somewhat relieved.

"David told me that you didn't speak much Japanese," the teacher told Haji in Japanese.

"I do not know it well, but I am learning it."

"Then do you intend to stay here?" the teacher asked. David had said Haji was in a long-term, committed relationship. If he was to stay in Japan, the teacher assumed, it was more likely that the relationship was with Saya,

"No. I will return to France," he omitted the fact that he would wait until Saya finally entered hibernation before that happened.

"Is that where your partner is?" The teacher asked.

Not knowing the modern terminology, Haji assumed he meant work partner. "Yes," he said.

"How long have you and your partner been together?" The teacher asked.

Haji held a blank look on his face, wondering why the teacher was asking that.

"Oh, I guess you didn't understand that. How long have you known Saya?" The teacher altered his question, hoping to elicit a response.

"Since I was ten. I began to live with her family then," Haji said. Skilled in the art of hiding his true age, Haji had become a proficient liar. He knew the best lies were based in truth.

"So she's like a sister to you?" The teacher asked, hoping to tease out their relationship further.

Haji easily hid the disgusted look he was tempted to make. He could easily tease the teacher to get back at that question instead. "No, she is more like the family's little princess I have to protect."

"Then you wouldn't let _anyone_ to do anything improper to her?" That made Haji realize what he was getting at – Saya's virtue. Either the teacher was a creep or wondering if Haji had done anything improper to her. It was a common enough way to ask about affairs with servants back in the day, though he was sure the teacher had accidentally worded it that way.

"No," he lied once more. He wouldn't let anyone do anything improper to her, with one exception: himself, and only with her consent. And, oh, he wanted to do improper things to her on this trip. With the time before her hibernation slipping away and their reconciliation being recent, Haji wanted all the time with her he could get, teachers be damned. If he could convince the teacher he had no interest in Saya, the teacher would be more willing to let his queen slip off in the night to see him unchaperoned. "I get paid to protect her from everything, including men like myself."

"Aren't you a member of the family? Her adopted brother?" The teacher asked.

"I was taken in to be a personal employee, so I was raised by the family but never formally adopted," Haji said. "Saya was formally adopted at birth."

The teacher decided that that must be a sore point for Haji, so he moved on. "What all do you do other than help Saya?"

"I am currently helping out with some decoration and restoration of historical properties," Haji replied. "I also play cello and cook." Those were two things outside of his appearance that might encourage the teacher to assume he was not interested in women, hence making him less of a threat to do anything inappropriate to Saya left to their own devices.

"You seem like a cultured man," the teacher assessed. He looked down at Haji's lap, seeing the book in his lap at last. "I'll leave you to your reading." A judgmental glance later and he left Haji alone.

* * *

"Hey, Saya," Kaori said, pulling her friend away from their less close female friends in the class. "You didn't tell me Haji was coming along."

Saya didn't reply, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Did David ask him to come, or did he not want to leave you alone?" Kaori suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Saya blushed.

"Joel wanted Haji to be here to help monitor my health," Saya said, trying hard to keep the blush off her face.

"So then you won't see him much?" Kaori asked, almost sounding disappointed.

Again, Saya stayed silent to avoid putting her foot in her mouth for Kaori to tease her with.

"That's a shame," Kaori said. "But are you sure you won't sneak off to see him? C'mon, I know you've had sex even if you won't say it."

"Even if I wanted to, he wouldn't do it," Saya said. She would never admit to Kaori that she thought he would do it. That would make her admit that she and Haji were lovers. It wasn't strange to have those who knew them well knowing that, but someone like Kaori who had no idea of their past was a bit strange to tell. After all, to her peers their relationship was barely legal.

"And why not? He has all of our female classmates staring at him like he's a piece of food and yet somehow all he's staring at is your butt," Kaori grinned.

Saya's blush broke through. "All of our interactions need to be chaperoned."

"That's a shame," Kaori said. "I guess you'll just have to put up with me." Her grin became perverted and Saya began to laugh.

* * *

On the plane to Kyoto, Saya and Kaori sat with a classmate in coach. For some reason, possibly to increase the perceived level of distance between them, David had ensured that Haji was sitting in business class. He wanted to look back to find her and ensure she was okay as his chevalier instinct told him to, but alas the seats were too tall to see over.

"Goldschmidt-san?" The teacher asked. This time he brought Kaori and another girl with him. "So as not to make a commotion among the class in the terminal, I waited to introduce you."

He nodded to the Kaori and then to the unfamiliar girl, who looked very much like what he imagined a proper modern girl would look like. Her uniform was pressed and perfect while her skirt had not been hemmed to the indecent length most girls wore them. Glasses sat on her modestly made-up face, and her undyed hair was pulled back from her face.

"These are the two class representatives, Kinjou-san and Miyahara-san," he said. "If for whatever reason I'm unable to chaperone your meetings with Otonashi-san, they'll help me out."

"It's nice to meet you," he replied with strict formality. The girls replied in turn.

He knew Kaori was obnoxiously invested in his relationship with Saya, so she wouldn't be a problem to slip Saya past. The other girl, though… He could tell she would be a challenge.

* * *

Even arriving at the inn, Haji noticed the eyes of Saya's classmates on him. They were almost predatory. When he arrived to his room, he should've been happy that it was across a courtyard from the room that the female students were staying in. That would have made it easy for Saya to slip out to him in the night unnoticed. It would also make it easy for those girls to sneak over and bother him.

The teacher had already bothered him and noted where Haji's room was. The look of disapproval greatly amused Haji. Apparently he was still suspicious of Haji's intentions.

Because the travel had taken a long time, they had arrived too late for any activities. As a result, the first action after arrival was for the class to go to dinner. That gave Haji some reprieve from the intrusion of the teacher and the gaze of the girls to read and relax. Unfortunately, the Japanese furniture offered no chair to sit in as he liked, so instead he remained standing. He was sure either way the girls would want to eat him up.

A soft knock brought him away from his book once more that day. He opened the door with a smile preparing to see Saya, but instead it was a worker at the inn, welcoming him for his stay with a tray of dango. Knowing he wouldn't eat it, he put it aside and went back to reading.

Only once he had finished the last chapter of the book did his hearing pick up on students returning to the room across the courtyard. He put the finished book into his bag and did not reach for one of the many others he'd brought along.

Soon enough, another knock on the door led him to open it again. This time he was greeted by Saya and her teacher.

"Good evening," the teacher greeted.

Saya kissed him on the cheek, something that due to Japanese stereotypes the teacher would understand as a common French greeting, not as the affectionate gesture it was.

"Come in," Haji offered. He directed Saya to sit on the futon he had laid out for himself. Although he was the only one staying in the room, they had given him a much larger futon than would be necessary for one person. That would be useful, but only if he could get Saya to sneak over unnoticed. He had placed the plate of dango next to the bed for Saya to eat. Although he had been forced to try food more lately, Haji found the return of certain bodily functions eating brought to be annoying and unnecessary. Saya would have no problem taking the hit for him.

Saya asked the teacher to turn away for privacy as she removed the school blazer and long sleeved blouse she worse, leaving her bra covered by only a camisole. She lay down under the comforter in case the teacher turned around. Haji held back any desire the small display had stirred up in him and began to check Saya's vital signs as he had been shown to by Julie. There was no need to actually do so – he knew instinctively when Saya would need blood – but he did so to maintain his act for the teacher, who had turned back around to watch the couple.

During that time, he began to speak to Saya in French. After asking her about her day, he began to move into less safe topics. Fortunately he was well aware that the teacher couldn't understand a word of French.

"It doesn't seem you'll need a transfusion tonight," Haji observed in French. "After all, you fed last night."

Saya nodded. "Will you need anything?"

"Not any blood tonight," he replied. The faintest hint of what Saya knew to be a look of desire spread across Haji's face. She tried to maintain a separation between Haji and her life at school, as school kept her human. Still, she couldn't deny she wanted the same thing as Haji. They had decided there would be no sex when Kai was home, and he was almost always at the Omoro. After the mess they'd created at Julie's, they didn't wish to impose on her in that way again. So this was the first chance in a long time for a night together.

"Do you think I could sneak over unnoticed?" Saya asked.

"I'm certain you're quite stealthy after all those years with the Red Shield," he replied smoothly.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she began to drift off to sleep. Although her hibernation was postponed, Saya was still sleeping more than would be typical of a teenager.

"Maybe not tonight," Haji suggested. He held onto her hand as she finally fell asleep before turning to the teacher. In Japanese, he addressed the teacher. "She's fallen asleep. Would you allow me to bring her back to her room?"

The teacher considered it. "I'll accompany you." He watched as Haji carefully put Saya's shirt back on her and hung her blazer over his arm. Haji picked the girl up with practiced ease and followed the teacher back to the room of gaggling girls. They spread to the edges of the room, watching reverently as the attractive man carried their classmate into the room. Kaori quickly lay out a futon for Saya, which Haji placed her onto. The teacher watched Haji from the door until he left.

"Would you like to come to the hot spring?" The teacher asked him. Haji swore he felt the girls in the room behind him snap their heads towards the conversation.

"Is there a reason?" Haji asked. Since he had no bodily functions including sweating (unless he ate regularly), he never got smelly enough to bathe himself. Recently, Saya had made him realize how relaxing a good bath at the end of the day could be, but he had no reason to want to bathe. The hot spring would feature group bathing, something his stuffy Victorian Era education turned him off completely.

"I figured you had never gotten to use a Japanese bath," the teacher said. "So I thought I would invite you."

Another test, Haji decided. Befriending the teacher, or at the very least getting to know him well enough to gain his trust, might help his cause. "I will meet you there in a few minutes," Haji declared, and the teacher began to tell him what he would need from his room.

The teacher nodded and the two went their separate ways to get ready. Haji brought the yukata left in his room along with the soap and shampoo he had brought along on the trip.

Once inside the bathing room, he sat down on one of the stools to wash himself. Even though he had a towel covering what mattered, it felt entirely immodest. The teacher plopped himself down right next to Haji, making the chevalier even more wholly uncomfortable. He sped up the washing and rinsing before quickly walking into the pool and sitting down.

"Why are you wearing a glove on your hand?" The teacher asked suddenly as he slipped into the water next to Haji. Since he began drinking Saya's blood regularly his hand had slowly been returning to a more human shape and color, but it wasn't presentable for a human audience yet. Julie had given him a discreet, flesh-colored glove to wear in the meantime.

"I have a wound on this hand. The glove helps keep the dressing dry and the wound covered so it does not get damaged."

"Well, I heard you served as a bodyguard. I thought you guys didn't actually get into any danger most of the time," the teacher laughed.

Haji didn't answer the teacher's implied question.

"Would you like sake?" The teacher asked, placing a tray on the water. On it was a small bottle and two small cups.

Haji didn't like to consume anything, but he knew that he should be polite. "Of course," he replied. The teacher poured him a small cup and Haji took a sip.

"Do you like it?"

Haji nodded.

"This is something that we Japanese tend to do," the teacher laughed, as if Haji had no idea what Japanese customs were. That was true to some extent, but he knew about this custom. It was one of the few things that David and Julia enjoyed enough to keep them in Japan.

Haji sat in silence with the teacher, sipping his sake and looking up at the sky. It was very relaxing, he decided.

Suddenly, his peace disappeared as feminine voices drifted over a bamboo wall. He could tell they were those of Saya's classmates, so he listened to hear if Saya was with them. It didn't seem that she was.

"Haji?" The teacher asked, but realized what Haji had heard. "Don't worry. The students are using a separate spring. The boys will get to use the other one once the girls are done."

"Ah," Haji said.

"Would you like to stay a bit longer?" The teacher asked. "I need to get out and finish up some work, but you are welcome to use the spring for a bit longer."

"Good night," Haji replied.

"I will see you tomorrow," the teacher assured Haji. Haji didn't like that assurance.

He sat in silence, trying to tune out the girl giggles and turning his head back to the sky. The teacher had taken the now empty bottle of sake away from the bath, which left him to his thoughts. A name from the bath next door drew his attention.

"-Saya?" A girl asked.

"Yeah! He's totally hot," another voice responded.

"Oh, but he's so devoted to her," the first voice said.

"I don't know. I mean, he looks at her with a look I could only dream of a guy using on me, but I heard he was taken or in a relationship or something," a third voice speculated.

"Yeah, with Saya! I mean, how's the teacher fooled?" one girl said.

"Ehh, I think it's cute," yet another girl said. He swore it was Kaori. Hopefully she would find some way to get them off the topic or lie though her teeth. "He was with her through all that crazy family stuff she had happen. It's like he's her knight in shining armor or something."

"When you put it that way," the second voice added.

"Kaori, don't you know Saya better than anyone?" Haji braced for them to ask Kaori the details of that terrible period of time. He had no idea what Saya had told Kaori about it or what Kaori would disclose if she knew. "Have they had sex yet?" That wasn't the question Haji had expected, and certainly wasn't one he wanted answered. He didn't want to hear Kaori's answer to that one. He knew Saya hadn't told Kaori, but he didn't want to be wrong. On his way out, he heard her answer anyways.

"I don't think so," Kaori sighed. "They're so cute that everyone who knows them but Kai wants it to happen, but he's too honorable. I doubt she'd tell me if they did it anyways."

"I guess we'll have to get it out of her, then," another voice responded. "We have a week. How should we approach this?"

Haji didn't want to know what the girls were planning. It was safer that way. He quickly changed and practically ran back to his room, eager for solitude yet hoping Saya would visit him.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed!

Remember that updates will be really slow and there's not much anyone can do to stop that. Still, reviews are highly appreciated. : )


	3. Day 2: A Day Apart

A/N: Nothing really to note here. Just yeah

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 2: A Day Apart**

Saya awoke late and had to scramble to get ready for breakfast. Her classmates watched as she stumbled in sleepily to the dining room in the inn. For the most part, the boys didn't notice, but the girls reacted oddly. A few whispered to each other while another group giggled. Kaori and had saved her a seat by the end of the table, so she plopped down unceremoniously. Knowing Saya's appetite, Kaori had also loaded her plate with food in case the class supply ran out prior to Saya's arrival.

"Good morning, Saya!" Her friend greeted. The more curious classmates tried to feign a lack of interest, but the drop in their conversation betrayed their desire to listen to the conversation between Saya and Kaori. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," Saya replied.

"You seem tired," Kaori informed her friend.

Unfortunately, Saya had woken up enough to begin devouring her food. Kaori knew it was a lost cause to try to get her to respond. The other girls went back to their conversations and Saya was saved from any further questioning for that moment.

Kaori dragged Saya up from the table and away from food as the teacher called them to the lobby to leave for their excursion. Although she was aware that Saya had been sleeping a lot lately, she didn't realize how bad it was. Saya was nearly asleep on her arm.

Today was worse than usual, and Saya was left to wonder if it was because she had forgone her usual small sip of Haji's blood. While Haji's disappearance helped her sleepiness, since his return her abnormal sleepiness had slowly begun to return. A small taste of his blood, transmitted through their good-morning kisses, tended to help her wake up. This morning, she hadn't gotten one. Maybe she could sneak a kiss in tonight.

* * *

After a short walk her class arrived at a museum, and Saya was reluctant to go in. She was sure that this part of Japan didn't have any negative experiences from her past, but then again she was also unaware of anything that had happened in Vietnam. She hoped that the worst flashback she would have would be the one she had to the field trip in Vietnam. Haji wasn't there in the case that she freaked out, so she would have to rely on herself.

Kaori was the one to pull her out of her anxiety by dragging Saya into the museum behind her.

Fortunately, this museum had to do nothing with war and strife. Instead it was filled with colorful props and costumes from traditional Japanese theatre. She walked with her classmates as their teacher as members of the museum staff performed demonstrations for the visitors to the museum.

"Saya?" A classmate asked. She turned. The other girls were trying on sample costumes provided by the museum. Saya had no idea what they were up to until they pulled her jacket off and began to drape heavy kimono layers over her.

Kaori laughed at the site of the much-too-large women's robes draped over her frame. They had been made for a male actor, so they hung off her. Kaori managed to grab Saya's phone so that she could take a picture. She tried to find Haji's number to send him the photo, but Saya managed to grab the phone back in time.

The class took a picture of all them dressed up on the stage at the museum. That would be a picture to remember. She sent it to Kai, instructing him to pass it on to Haji.

Afterwards, several girls from the class ended up at a traditional restaurant to eat lunch before the class attended an afternoon performance of a classic Noh play.

"Say, Saya," one of the girls, Satoko, said. "That hot guy at the airport works at your brother's restaurant, right?"

Kaori knew that they knew the answer from the spring last night, but it was yet to be seen if Saya knew.

Saya nodded.

"So you know him, then?" Rina asked.

One more nod.

"How well do you know him?" Satoko questioned.

Kaori wondered that as well; she knew Saya and Haji were incredibly close and probably lovers, but Saya had never directly confirmed it. If her friend was willing to do so, she wouldn't complain.

Saya blushed. "Pretty well," she said. Trying to stick to the official story despite being flustered and exhausted, she spoke. "He works for my father, but he lives with us."

Kaori realized much sooner than Saya that the last part of that statement would cause a lot of suspicion.

"Oh? He lives with you?" Satoko asked suggestively.

"Yeah, with Kai and I," Saya replied, realizing what she was saying. "But not like that! It's because he needs to save the housing costs and Kai needed extra help around the restaurant."

"I see," Rina replied. Satoko and Rina weren't good friends with Saya and Kaori, but they wouldn't be ones to press any issues like this for gossip. Still, Kaori wasn't convinced that either girl thought the living arrangement was innocent. To be fair, she wasn't convinced of it at all either. She hadn't seen any evidence of him in Saya's room, but none of his things were in the guest room either. Haji and Kai had lingering tension between the two (and not the sexual kind), so Kaori knew that Haji wouldn't be staying in Kai's bedroom.

"So he's from France?" Satoko asked, changing the topic ever so slightly.

"I don't know if that's where he was born," Saya said truthfully. "But he did grow up there."

"French men are sexy," Rina replied. "Maybe it's the language. It's so romantic."

Kaori jumped on this line of conversation, trying to draw the conversation further from Haji. If her friend was too private with their relationship to tell her best friend, and from what she could gather her own brother, she wouldn't force her now obviously uncomfortable friend to talk. "Isn't it? When I get the chance to go to Europe I really hope I'll find a boyfriend. If we hope to do that, we better start practicing now."

"Maybe Haji could help," Rina suggested. "Could you introduce us?"

"He doesn't speak enough Japanese," Saya said. "I doubt he could teach you anything."

"How did the teacher speak to him then?" Rina shot back.

"He's good at pretending he understands things," Saya replied. "He can be a bit of a jerk that way." She didn't like to admit it, but she knew he hated listening to anyone but her. He was getting better at conversation, though she knew he hated people with unnecessary control over Saya. That meant the Red Shield and Kai backing off their protective streak had led to Haji's improving relationship with them. Saya's teacher, however, would have definitely rubbed him the wrong way and there was no way to fix that in a week.

Satoko grumbled, and moved on entirely from trying to crack the riddle of Haji. Rina soon followed, and Saya felt a bit more yearning for her chevalier.

* * *

That night, after checking in with Haji (the meeting still watched over by her teacher), Saya got into the bath long after she'd assumed her classmates would be gone. She slipped into the water and stared at the stars, wondering if Haji saw the same ones from the opposite side of the fence. They had bathed together once at the Zoo, and he had helped her bathe several times since, but now that their relationship had become intimate once more the idea was embarrassing. The fact that her classmates could share the bath with her while her lover was separated only by a bamboo fence made the situation worse. Luckily, they weren't there to see her stare at the fence in contemplation or to see that expression turning to lust when she heard his elegant footsteps enter the men's side of the bathing area.

They were there to greet her as she returned to the room all the girls shared. If she hadn't been so quick to fall asleep, Saya was sure that they would continue to question her about her lover. While she was typically easy going, she had found that nothing annoyed her quite like those questions from her classmates.

Only two hours later, Saya was shaken awake by Kaori. The majority of the girls were asleep, but Kaori and a couple of nearby girls were awake and staring at her.

"Saya, are you okay?" Her friend whispered.

Saya's sleepiness didn't allow her to answer beyond a nod.

"You sounded like you were in pain! You were moving around quite a bit and a minute ago I swore you said Riku's name a few times," Kaori informed her. Saya didn't recall any nightmares, but it was rare that she did any more with how deep she slept. "I was going to have you go to Haji's room. The teacher said we were allowed to bring you there if necessary, and I think he can help you with your nightmare." Kaori neglected to mention that she technically had to chaperone Saya's visits, but she had no intention of doing so. If the two were doing adult things, Kaori didn't feel it was right to interfere.

"That's okay," Saya tried to assure Kaori and her fellow class rep that had appeared by Saya's futon. "I'm okay. I don't remember the nightmare. I'll be fine staying here."

"Yes, but we don't want you waking anyone else up. Your dream was rather loud and distressing," the other class rep explained. She forcefully helped Saya up and was prepared to drage her across the courtyard if necessary. The light behind a paper screen door revealed Haji's presence.

Without any knocking needed, Haji quietly opened the door and let the three girls in.

"You are welcome to stay as long as necessary. I believe there are extra futons in the closet if you need them," Haji told the class representatives. It wasn't what he wanted to tell them, but it was what was proper considering the school's strict policies.

"I trust you," Kaori said. "You wouldn't do anything to hurt her, and if Kai's correct about you being annoyingly proper, you won't do anything the teacher won't approve of." Honestly, Kaori wasn't sure of that, be she didn't care.

The other class representative looked a bit surprised at her fellow officer's statement, but conceded the point because she knew of Kaori's close friendship with Saya. "As long as you return her before 6:30, there should be no problem."

The representatives watched with envious eyes as Haji gently led Saya to the impeccably made futon and tucked her in with extreme care. He brushed her hair aside and fluffed the pillow to make sure she was comfortable. Soon enough they remembered that they were interrupting what could be considered to be a private moment and they snuck out of the room.

Only after he heard the sliding door lock shut did Haji dare climb in next to her and hold her small form. She may look vulnerable, but he knew she was far from it. She was the beautiful, strong woman he was proud to call his queen, and that meant that he would remain with her until the ends of the earth.

* * *

 **A/N:** Chapter's a bit short, but it's what I could muster up in creativity and writing after the soul-draining stretch of quizzes and midterms. Ah, school.


	4. Day 3: Unwanted Revelations

A/N:

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 3: Unwanted Revelations**

Saya was awoken with a kiss a little before 6am. She stared up at Haji, who sported a neutral expression. Still, knowing her chevalier well enough, she could tell that something was bothering him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Obviously the fact that she was in his room and not with her classmates was wrong, but Haji didn't care about that.

Haji didn't speak. He tended to stay silent when something was bothering him, so Saya became a bit more worried. When he handed his phone to Saya after opening something on the screen, it only made her more nervous about what was to come. Haji rarely used his phone unless necessary.

On the screen was a copy of an e-mail from Joel. It was sent to all the core Red Shield members, including her. She hadn't checked her phone over the last night, which explained why she didn't see it. Before reacting, she read it a good five times to confirm what she had read.

 _This was released today. I sent it as soon as I saw it to ensure you would be aware of it. Despite potential consequences, they felt it was necessary to release this information for the sake of transparency. They have lied on certain important details they deemed necessary to obscure. It should not affect us, but they will provide resources in the case that it does._

 _-Joel_

 _"_ _New York, USA. On behalf of the UN committee investigating the incidents related to Cinque Fleches and the related experiments._

 _"_ _We can confirm these experiments were done on a human population. We can also confirm that the original experiments were carried out at the estate in France where the founder's cousin resided._

 _"_ _The original experiments were carried out in two phases. The first formula was given to the family's adopted children, of whom one survives to the current day. The second formula was administered to the founder of Cinque Fleches and one other individual. Only the other individual is still alive. Of the Cinque Fleches attempts to replicate this success, there were five known successes and thousands of failures. None of the successes are still alive, although it is believed that several thousand of the failures are. These failed experiments were the creatures observed at the incidents that led to this investigation. We are assessing this situation to determine how to proceed._

 _"_ _Extensive research has shown that the two survivors of the original experiments are physiologically normal humans. We can find no indication that they are abnormal despite their long lifespan. Currently, there is no plan to intervene in their lives other than as necessary to keep their lives private._

 _"_ _We have concluded our investigation into these experiments. The results shall not be published due to the strong possibility that they will lead to further human experimentation. Investigation into the corruption carried out to facilitate these experiments is ongoing."_

"So, this means…" Saya mumbled in surprise.

Haji nodded. The details were vague, but he knew an enterprising journalist or obsessive individual might use the timeline of the incidents to figure out roughly who they were. Hell, some of Saya's classmates might have suspicions with the release of the document. He hoped none had read it.

"Would you like me to tell them that you are too ill to come to class today?" Haji asked his queen.

"No," Saya replied. "I'm okay."

Haji didn't need to look at her to know anything he said wouldn't change her mind, so he left her to go back to her classmates while he came up with a strategy in case anything happened to them.

Saya entered the room with her sleeping classmates and lay down on her futon. She knew they would be up soon enough, so she didn't bother trying to fall back asleep. She lay there, worried that someone would get the article up. The thought that most of her classmates could care less about the news didn't calm her thoughts. The Cinque Fleches scandal had hit her community, and by now most of her class knew her father was a victim of it as was her brother. Of course it was the one piece of news any of them cared about because of that.

Slowly, Kaori woke up and rolled to see Saya back to her futon.

"Saya?" Her friend asked. "Are you okay? You look pale!"

"I'm fine," Saya tried to assure her friend.

Getting ready for the day, Saya noticed Kaori was looking over at her constantly. It made her more nervous. Though Kaori never pried, she probably had some idea what had happened, and if she'd read the press release, she'd be certain to put it all together. Kaori wasn't the one Saya was worried about, but she still worried her friend would view her differently.

When they met the class in the lobby, the teacher pulled Saya aside. Saya tried not to flinch back as he approached her. Not only had the press release come out, but if he found out she had spent the night unsupervised with Haji, she could be sent home.

"Saya," he said in his strict voice, "Are you sure you should be going out right now?"

That didn't assure her, but she stayed calm. "I'm okay," she said.

"You look ill, and I heard you had a bad night last night," he informed her. "Should I get Mr. Goldschmidt to take you to a clinic for your anemia?"

"No, I'm fine," Saya said.

"Well, the second you faint, I'll call him," the teacher cockily said, sure he was correct. Saya decided not to fight his opinion. It would lead to nothing productive.

Kaori was assigned to keep an eye on Saya all day by the teacher, although both girls knew it was unnecessary. They would be together anyways.

Today was a trip to a shrine. During the tour and lectures she worried, but when they were given a chance to take charms from the shrine she was calmed down a bit. During their modest lunch at a park near the shrine, Saya made sure to eat as large of a lunch as she could get. She had been through worse, so she was sure she could handle this if she took care of herself. She had gotten through worse even without Haji, so she knew she had to keep her chin up.

The afternoon was a hike and a lecture about a small shrine in the woods calmed her further. Saya had spent so much time running, hiking, and sleeping in the woods that she could almost call it a second home. It was also one of the few places in modern society that she was able to go to in order to block out the chaotic noise of modern society. In the woods she only heard animals and the rustle of leaves, not the pulses of those around her, urging her to drink.

"Saya?" Kaori asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Saya whipped her head around to see her friend and nodded. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Kaori looked at Saya as if she doubted her friend's explanation. "Why don't you take a bath with us tonight? Maybe relaxing with the class will help!"

Saya nodded, unsure about the prospect. She had bathed in the presence of Haji and many maids, but that was over a hundred years before. Bathing with friends wasn't something Europeans did, and until she moved to Japan she had only known European ways of doing things, so she had never been comfortable with communal bathing. Now that she had several scars, it was a more daunting prospect. Kaori was just trying to help, so Saya agreed to go along with her plan.

* * *

After dinner, Saya followed her classmates to the outdoor bath. She watched as they undressed without shame, but was slow to undress herself. It was only after most had left to go wash up that Saya removed her clothes and put the towel on, careful to avoid any classmates' eyes going to her abdomen. The scar, although light, was a reminder of when she killed Karl. Because she hadn't been getting enough blood, her normal inability to scar was hampered at that point. The light brown patches on her stomach and back were a reminder of that. She wondered if they would ever go away.

When she got inside, she realized she would have to work around her towel to wash herself off. While the rest of the girls were naked to wash off, she was reluctant to do so. Instead she brought her washcloth under her towel and maneuvered in such a way as to prevent the towel from slipping off. In the bath, she took the towel off slowly as she entered the water, hoping no one would see the mark on her stomach. When she was all the way in, she sighed in relief. She soaked in up to her neck as she saw some of the other girls doing. Now that she knew no one could see her scars, she took her time to relax, silently thanking Kaori for her suggestion. Only after all the girls had left did she get out of the bath and change into her yukata.

There was a polite knock on the door to the girls' room while they were all hanging out before bed. One of the girls opened it just a crack.

"Is Saya there?" The teacher's gruff voice came through.

"Yeah, would you like me to get her?"

"Yes," he replied. Saya was once again nervous that he had figured something out. She got up and went to the door, stepping out into the hallway.

"You didn't go to see Haji tonight, despite your condition," the teacher observed. "Why don't you go see him now? It would be good to make sure you're okay before you go to bed."

Saya gulped, but complied. While the teacher took the hallways to Haji's room, Saya went back into the girls' room, opened the screen door to the courtyard, and crossed to Haji's room. As usual, once inside Haji made her lie down on the futon. When the teacher knocked on the door Haji went into the hallway to talk with him, so Saya was left to lie down listening to the noise of her classmates.

"…If anyone's immortal we know, it's totally that guy that lives with Saya," one voice said from across the courtyard. Saya froze up.

"Yeah, really! Hot in an exotic, classic way? Check. Speaks French, where the family came from? Check. We haven't seen him eat? Check. Vague details about his life? Check," another voice replied.

"Wouldn't that make Saya immortal too?" A third voice asked.

"Who knows," the first voice pondered. "I mean, probably, though? Her background's just as sketchy and she's French, right?"

"I doubt it's them," a fourth voice came in. "I mean, they're not immortal, they're just aging slowly, so I'd bet they look older by now, like at least 30 or 40."

"Well, we _were_ just joking about it," the second voice informed the fourth voice. "There's no way it's those two. I mean, there's definitely something weird with them, but it's probably mafia-like stuff. Like, they're hiding on the island or something."

"Not to mention it would be weird if she was that old and in school," the fourth voice replied. "Like if you're that old you probably know everything by now."

"But it's so fun to imagine," the first voice said. "He's like the perfect image of one of those sexy vampires in a Western novel."

"I wish he was," a fifth voice added. "He could drink my blood any day."

"If they were though, that would totally change the way I would see their relationship," the first voice said. "It would be less like a bodyguard-young lady romance and more a vampire romance across the decades?"

"If you'd want to think of it that way," the second voice said back.

"But could you imagine? 125 years to get to know your partner's body," the fifth voice sighed. "They must have the most romantic sex ever!"

"Like you'd know," the fourth voice laughed. "I'm pretty sure we're all virgins here, and none of us more than Saya if she's not dating that European guy! What guy would dare date her with such a hot guy so close to her at all times?"

"Saya?" Haji's voice hit her ears, dragging her attention away from her classmates'. She watched him close the sliding door to the courtyard for privacy.

"Haji?" She asked him.

"The teacher told me you were pale this morning. He said he was afraid you would faint. You need to take care of yourself," Haji chastised her. He apologized with a kiss to the head and another on the lips.

"Isn't he here?" Saya gasped out, shocked Haji would be so forward in front of a teacher.

"No," Haji replied. "He's waiting outside with his cell phone in the case we need to take you for a transfusion," Haji informed her.

Saya looked up at him, as if to ask what he was going to do. He felt the need for an excuse to kiss her. She knew his plan as soon as she watched him pull a knife out of his suitcase and raise it to cut across his palm. His mouth sucked up the blood before he walked over to her. Slowly he kissed her, letting his blood flow into her mouth. Once all of it was passed, he felt an urge to kiss her more, all thoughts of the lurking teacher flying out of his mind. His tongue entered her mouth and began to battle with hers. Haji slipped one hand under her kimono to caress her breast while the other arm wrapped around her back.

"Mr. Goldschimdt?" A voice knocked him out of his state. It was the teacher.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I was taking some time to see if my easiest option worked," Haji lied. He stood up and walked to the door while Saya fixed her kimono. Once he was sure it was back to a presentable state, he opened the door.

"Do we need to take her to a clinic tonight?" He asked.

"No. I gave her some of her as needed medicine, which appears to be helping," Haji replied, using an excuse Julia had taught him.

"She does look a bit less pale," the teacher agreed. "Why don't you have her go back to bed now?"

Haji begrudgingly agreed to let her back, and the teacher escorted her out of his room. He supposed this was another failure to get into Saya's pants on the trip. Either way, it seemed the teacher trusted him enough to leave them alone for a few short minutes, so perhaps he would meet his goal soon enough.

* * *

 **A/N:** Chapter done! Please leave reviews if you like it! J


	5. Day 4: Spirit

A/N: These updates take a long time to do. Reviews motivate it, but school makes all motivation go. So much work. So little energy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 4: Spirit**

On the fourth day of the trip, Kaori found herself worried when she hadn't been able to wake Saya. She could feel the pulse in Saya's neck and saw her chest rise and fall, so she didn't know what to do. After some time, she decided to let Saya sleep through breakfast, but packed some food to go for her voracious eater of a friend.

With only two minutes to go before the bus left, Saya was finally dressed and ready to go.

"Saya?" Kaori asked her on the walk to their destination. "Are you sure you're okay? I know yesterday you weren't feeling well, but Haji gave you some medicine to help out, right?"

"I'm fine," Saya assured her. She certainly looked less pale than the day before, and she was energetic as usual once awake. There was even a smile gracing Saya's face.

Kaori held back a skeptical look, but tried to assure herself that Saya wasn't really that sick. The whole day she planned to keep an eye on her friend. As they arrived at the shrine they were visiting for the morning, Kaori noticed her friend waver slightly, but wondered if Saya had tripped. Sometimes Saya would walk like the daughter of a dignified rich family; sometimes she would walk like an athlete. Today, Saya looked unsteady on her feet – something she wasn't used to seeing.

While the teacher began to lecture the class about the history of the shrine and tied it into their education about the Shinto religion, Buddhism, and history they'd learned about since they were little, Kaori found her opportunity to discuss her concern with Saya at the back of the crowd of barely awake students.

"Did anything happen?" Kaori asked.

"No! I'm fine! Nothing's wrong," Saya insisted.

"I can tell when you're lying," Kaori said.

"It's not something I can talk about," Saya replied.

"I don't care if you don't want to tell me," Kaori told Saya. Saya knew Kaori's rationale, but waited to confirm it for her peace of mind. "I trust you. You don't need to tell me anything you don't want to."

"Thanks," Saya whispered.

"But if you feel like you want to tell me, I'll listen," Kaori told Saya. She turned her attention back to the lecture.

"I will," Saya replied, barely loud enough for Kaori to hear.

In the afternoon, after the tour and a packed lunch outside the shrine, the class was let loose to speak to the staff of the shrine and experience rituals and daily care of the shrine. One by one the priestesses each showed the class a different thing.

Kaori first noticed the priest out of the corner of her eye in the morning staring at Saya. Since Mao had left, Kaori had known something was not natural about Saya – that something was not human – but she had ignored it. The image of Saya covered in blood, eyes glowing and holding a sword, stuck in her had as much as she hated to admit it. Throughout the day, she saw the priest watching her friend.

At the very end of the day, the priest finally approached to teach the class about some fortune telling exercise. He asked for a student volunteer. As a joke, he acted that some spirit had chosen a student for him: Saya.

As she stood up, Saya once again swayed, but she immediately straightened herself up with the determination Kaori was used to seeing from her friend. She watched as Saya followed the priest's instructions. He turned around and began to announce the results to the class.

"This girl has a very strong spirit, doesn't she? Stronger than most humans," he said. Kaori noticed Saya flinch at the second half, but tried to ignore it. She had always told herself that if Saya was something inhuman, she didn't want to know. "I believe that she'll see a lot more happiness in the future than she's seen in the past, and her relationships will continue to grow."

Saya blushed. "A strong spirit?" She asked, to clarify the priest's words.

"Yes. I can tell you've been through a lot in the past," he said. "And those difficulties will give you more strength to succeed."

Saya nodded and went to sit down, but the priest whispered something in her ear that rattled Saya. She avoided Kaori's gaze on the way to sit back down.

* * *

"You're not human are you?" The priest whispered into her ear. "You're much older than you look."

Those words concerned Saya. Despite her own bizarre nature, she couldn't believe other supernatural things. She hoped no one in her class had heard the priest's words, but if they had, they wouldn't believe it. Well, maybe with yesterday's announcement they had. Even with Kaori's position at the back of the group, she was somehow most worried about her friend hearing those words. Surely Kaori knew by now that she wasn't human.

Saya stewed in her thoughts. This had only made the news from yesterday more concerning. Someone else knew. He was a priest, but considering her knowledge of European priests, it didn't mean much. They weren't trustworthy.

"Saya?" A voice asked. It wasn't Kaori, making Saya worry about what her friend was doing. Usually Kaori was the one to snap her out of her funks.

"Rina?" Saya asked.

"It's time to go back to the hotel for dinner. Are you coming?"

Saya nodded and jumped to her feet to follow, trying to hide her fear.

* * *

Unlike the other nights, Haji would be back late, so Saya had to take her bath with the other girls of her class. She wondered what Haji could be doing. He had been relatively evasive about it, other than that he was working with Joel to take back property the family had stored with museums around the world now that the family had safe places to store them. It wasn't an entirely coherent argument since she hadn't heard about Joel buying a manor to furnish or having any use for old dresses, but she didn't know what else Haji could be doing with his time. The documents she'd seen him working on – mainly pieces describing French decorating schemes from the 1880s – certainly supported his claim.

Saya found herself trying to sneak into the bath. European born and raised, she didn't like the idea of communal bathing and never had. Even though she had servants to help her bathe in the past, this felt entirely different in nature. Then, she was a rich girl who expected to be bathed by her maids; now, she would be looked at by her classmates.

Back in the time at the Zoo, her skin was flawless and without scars. For the most part, it was still that way. Her refusal to drink blood had slowed down her healing and led to some scars marring her body now. The largest scars were on her front and back, marking the path of her own sword as it stabbed through her own body to kill Karl. The smaller scars from cuts she'd received were much less conspicuous. The few she had on her arms were hardly visible, even up close, and the one on her palm from the repeated cutting on her blade was invisible surrounded by the white skin on her palm.

At the last minute she threw her towel off and quickly slipped into the tub of water to sit down, hoping no one had seen the scar on her stomach.

"How'd you get that scar?" A girl Saya didn't know too well asked. The other girls who had known her well at the time of her father's death looked around nervously as if they knew it was a touchy subject. They probably didn't know how touchy of a subject it was.

Saya didn't quite know how to respond, so she quickly closed her mouth once she realized it had opened.

"The one on her stomach?" Satoko asked.

"Yeah! It looks like that was a bad injury," the girl said.

"I, I-," Saya tried to start, looking at the water and thinking.

"It had something to do with those experiments, right?" Kaori asked, trying to tell the truth for Saya, knowing she couldn't do it. To be fair, Kaori didn't know the whole truth, but she did create a narrative for herself to use.

"Yes," Saya tried to answer.

"Yeah! What was that all about?" the girl asked. "I only moved here last year, so I didn't get to learn much. Like, I know what happened, but it was so crazy!"

"I'm sure you can find out on your own, Asuka," Rina suggested with a harsh whisper. "It's rude to talk about that!"

Saya's hearing, slightly enhanced from Haji's blood the night before, heard Rina's statement. She wondered if she should reply, but Kaori did it for her.

"Saya's Dad was killed in the experiments after an accident," Kaori explained. She looked to Saya as if to ask for approval. Saya gave a small nod, knowing that Kaori couldn't say anything terrible since she was militantly against knowing any details of the situation. "Saya and her brothers had to move in with Saya's relative in France for a while. She was attacked there by some creep."

"I didn't realize it happened after the accident," Rina said. "I suppose we just didn't see you after that to ask about it."

"It was all really sudden," Kaori admitted.

Saya still didn't feel like she could say anything.

"You're back now that Kai's old enough, right?" Satoko asked. "Don't you wish you were living in France? And your guardian must be rich to have an employee just to help you out."

Saya blushed. "He owns a shipping company, so he travels a lot. I like the laid back atmosphere here."

"But the parties! And the food," Rina drooled. "And French guys are so hot!"

Saya's blush deepened. At least they were off the topic of her scar.

"Oh, come on," Kaori sighed. "I'm sure there's just as many hot guys in Japan."

"Not at our school," Rina snapped back.

Saya decided that as long as she waited to get out, there would be no more discussion of the scar or her past.

* * *

The teacher brought Saya to Haji's room as per usual, but this time he sat in watching their interactions more closely, as if he was concerned that something had happened the night before.

"How was your day, Haji?" He asked, trying to get Haji to warm up to him.

"Fine," Haji replied, one for few words as usual.

"Where were you today?" The teacher asked.

"I was at a museum all day," Haji explained as he assessed Saya's appearance.

"I could've sworn I saw you, watching Saya at the shrine today," the teacher stated. "Almost like a spirit in the woods."

"I did go for a hike in the woods around my lunch hour," Haji conceded. "I did not see your class or any shrine."

The teacher glared at Haji and looked him up and down several times. "It must've been someone else."

Tonight, there was no patience in the teacher's face. As soon as he noticed Haji was dawdling, he demanded Haji speed up the process and almost dragged the girl out of his room. He wondered if his little visit had really scared the teacher that much or if it had sparked a fresh round of suspicions for the teacher. He guessed he would have to find out on his own, even if he didn't want to risk anything.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter's done! The next chapter is already on the way!


	6. Day 5: Immodesty

A/N: This is another one of those things that was more of an idea for Life Goes On and was changed to make it fit the tone of that story better. Since this one's a more pervy and slightly OOC take on things, it will be more pervy. Also, this chapter is fairly long compared to the others, so be prepared. There's also some citrus in them thar hills.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 5: Immodesty**

Saya woke up for the second morning in a row feeling slightly lethargic. At least today she had enough time to get ready. Her need for blood hadn't gone up, but she knew she had consumed less than she had in the past. One small feeding from Haji a week with no transfusions was not enough to sustain a chiropteran queen who could fall asleep at any minute. She could feel her instincts drawing her to get more blood from someone, anyone, but she knew she would (and could) wait for the night.

Today was the final day of classes, and tomorrow they would have a day to themselves to explore. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to spend it out with her class. Perhaps that day's weakness had just gotten to her too much.

This was a day she was excited for, so she knew she couldn't use her fatigue to keep her in bed. Today they would be going to a manor museum in the morning and a museum about Japanese culture throughout the ages, with an exhibit about western influences on Japanese culture. Joel had told her that several of her old dresses had ended up in storage there by way of a French collector who preserved them for the family. Haji would be taking her dresses back to France for the family to store with more of the dresses that had been kept under lock and key in France.

Her old finery would make her think of her past – that would be automatic – but she was ready to confront her past. Honestly, she wondered what they would look and feel like or if she could even remember them anywhere close to what they were. For the first time she felt some excitement remembering her time at The Zoo. How times had changed.

Secretly, she wondered if she could take one of the dresses home for Haji to take off of her. She had always loved that part of her day.

* * *

Haji didn't see Saya that morning, so he didn't know how she was feeling. He was a bit worried considering her low intake of blood the past week. To make sure he would be able to give her as much as she would need he had gone out the past three nights and found individuals that met his standards (heavily inebriated and obese). Unfortunately obese people in Japan didn't tend to be as large as those in Europe or America so he couldn't get as much as he needed without killing them – and he wasn't about to kill any humans. He couldn't decide if that frustration was what was annoying him or if it was the teacher's determination to supervise his visits with Saya.

Either way, by the sixth hour that day of sorting through boxes and bags of old dresses trying to find a total of five of Saya's old ones he was ready to call it a day. With only that day to do the work, he couldn't. He'd found four so far along with a box of several corsets and a chemise. Sexy, but it still wasn't that last damn dress. It was one that hadn't been catalogued, making the search worse. After finding it, he would then have to go through the effort of getting each dress onto a mannequin and taking pictures for the directors of the Zoo project to appraise. Some would be displayed while others would go into storage, and apparently they found that a priority to decide five years before completion. To make it worse, the curators seemed bitter to see the gorgeous dresses leave, and were hesitant to help him. He wasn't a man that complained much, but he was about ready to chew Joel out on this.

To calm his temper before getting ready to take the pictures, Haji went for a walk in the courtyard of the museum. Suddenly, his day was made a bit brighter as he saw Saya's class being led through the courtyard to another exhibit. Then, as the class came towards him, the teacher saw him.

"Mr. Goldschimdt," He greeted, obviously not happy to see Haji. "Can we talk?"

"Of course," Haji agreed, glad for his almost inhuman restraint. They walked away from the class to a corner of the courtyard for more privacy.

"I understand that you are technically her bodyguard, but it's inappropriate for you to follow Saya around," The teacher scolded.

"I'm here for my other job," Haji calmly explained.

"Other job?" The teacher questioned, clearly forgetting what Haji had discussed with him.

"I am assisting with some historical preservation projects in France. Since I would be in town with Saya, the directors asked me to look at some items they had on loan to local museums," Haji elaborated. "I'm taking a break right now."

Clearly not impressed by his explanation, the teacher demanded to be introduced to whoever Haji was working with at the museum. Thankfully, where Haji was working was in the same direction that the class was going, so he and the teacher followed along after. Again, Haji noticed several of the girls stealing glances at him. Saya hadn't bothered to look back, and he wondered if she could sense him nearby as he could her.

The guide stopped the class in front of a painting and Haji knocked on a nearby door. The curator of textiles opened the door and confirmed to the teacher that Haji was indeed working there for the day.

"He's actually very knowledgeable about France's late 19th Century art and history," The curator praised. It was the first nice thing Haji had heard them say all day. "I'm not surprised his employers asked him to come do this work for them – he knows more than I do!"

Still not entirely impressed with Haji's excuse, the teacher spoke up. "Then would he be able to teach our class a bit about the European fashion that so influenced Japan during that time?"

Haji was a bit surprised, but didn't speak up.

"You have to take pictures of those dresses on the mannequin, correct?" The curator asked. "Perhaps you can show the class the way the garments would be put on?"

Haji was tempted to protest, but didn't think that would be a good idea.

"I would love to see your methods of doing so since we sometimes run into problems getting the dresses onto mannequins when we need to put a corset on as well," The curator continued enthusiastically.

Haji wondered how she even knew he could do that, but then remembered he had helped them ready a corset for display when he first came in that morning. It had taken all of five minutes, although without a squishable body it had been more difficult than he was used to.

"Yes, why don't you show us?" The teacher replied. Haji suspected this was another test of his character. "Maybe Saya would volunteer?"

"Would that not be inappropriate?" Haji questioned, knowing his own opinion on that matter. "Corsets are undergarments."

"Then you could just show the staff and a few of the female students," the teacher suggested. Haji was surprised he didn't add on what he was likely thinking: to make sure you don't do anything funny in such a compromising situation.

"Of course," Haji replied, still not happy but willing to end the pain of the teacher's interrogation for the moment.

"Otonashi-san, Kinjou-san, Miyahara-san," the teacher called to his class. "May you come over here?"

The three girls in question left the crowd of students while the rest of the class looked on.

"This man, Mr. Goldschmidt, apparently knows quite a bit about the European fashion that had impact on Meiji-era culture," the teacher explained, a determined glint in his eye. "So he will be assisting us in a quick lesson about it. We'll be with you in a minute."

Haji directed Saya, Kaori, and her fellow class rep into the back where the garments he pulled were stored. The curator had made a make-shift dressing room with a curtain – since these garments were only ever put on mannequins before, they didn't have a changing room for humans. Haji brought one dress box in with the chemise and a couple of her old corsets. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to find any drawers for Saya to wear as well.

The curator, teacher, Haji, and Saya's classmates waited on the other side of the curtain while Saya undressed and put the chemise on.

"Haji?" Saya's voice called from the other side of the curtain.

Haji didn't even look at the teacher to call for permission before heading back. He saw that Saya had done what she was able to – undressed down to her underwear and put the chemise on. In French, so as not to tip off the teacher, he reminded her to take her bra off as well so he could put the corset on. He watched as she examined the corsets he had brought in, trying to remember which one she preferred for comfort. He noted how thin the chemise had become over the years – he could see every detail of her breasts very well through the fabric. That was tempting, but with the teacher separated from him by just a curtain, he wouldn't dare do anything improper. Finally, she handed one to him.

"Are you ready with the corset?" The curator asked, eager to watch one be put on.

"Would you mind bringing a pair of drawers and some new laces?" Haji asked her. She quickly brought what he had asked and went behind the curtain to watch.

"Can we see?" Kaori asked.

"Of course," the curator responded without asking Haji or Saya for their permission. She opened the curtain to the teacher and the class representatives could see. Thankfully Saya had put the drawers on to hide her bottom half, and had clutched the now closed front of the corset to her chest to hide anything that showed through on top.

In French, Saya and Haji began to speak short sentences to each other.

"I know this isn't back then, but it's so embarrassing," Saya admitted.

"It is immodest," Haji replied.

"Did the teacher put you up to this?" Saya asked.

"I would never do such a thing to you of my own will," he told her affectionately, but without any affection in his tone.

"Are you okay?" The curator cut them off.

Both Saya and Haji nodded, eager to get this over with. Saya reverted to the breathing pattern she'd adopted for corsets while Haji tightened the laces he'd put into it. To make it seem like this was the first time Saya had had a corset on, Haji instructed her carefully in Japanese. Once he had determined that the corset was laced tight enough to fit her into a dress, he let the curator come to examine his work.

"Does not having a bra on make it easier?" She asked. Haji swore he saw the teacher give a small glare out of the corner of his eye.

"It allows the corset to fit better," Haji explained. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure because he'd never had to put on a corset over a bra, but giving a good excuse would help to convince the teacher that he was purely professional in his actions.

"Ah, I see," the curator replied. She inspected the laces. "It seems the breathing pattern was key to getting this right."

Haji nodded and closed the curtain, hiding the teacher's view once more. "Do you have a crinoline to use?" Before he knew it, the curator had fetched one and he was well on his way to having Saya dressed.

As Saya walked out from behind the curtain in her full ensemble, Haji held her up. The lack of blood certainly wouldn't be helped by any breathing issues she had due to the corset. In the past, Saya had no issues, but she hadn't worn a corset in a century, which worried Haji enormously. She was also getting less blood than she had at that time.

"Saya! You look gorgeous," Kaori squealed, making her friend blush. "It's as if that dress was made for you." Haji wanted to say that it was, but held his tongue.

Kaori took over for Haji and helped march Saya out to her class while the curator gave Haji underclothes to show the class. The girls all watched in envy at the gorgeous dress their classmate was wearing. Being accompanied by a handsome man half the girls had developed a crush on certainly didn't help matters.

Haji began to explain the different garments while the teacher began to cut in, comparing them to traditional Japanese attire. When he finally got to the outer garments, the teacher watched with rapt attention to make sure he wasn't actually touching Saya, just indicating the various parts of her ensemble.

When it was time to change back, Haji made sure to take a picture of Saya in her dress to keep for himself. Oh, how he wished he could take it off of her. Unfortunately the teacher stood nearby waiting for him to make a mistake.

They went to the storage room so he could help her take it off and put the items back into storage. It went fine until he had to loosen the laces on the corset.

"Perhaps one of the girls should do this?" The teacher proposed as he began.

"Since this is a historic piece, it needs to be handled carefully," Haji explained as he continued to loosen each segment of lace individually. The teacher nodded, buying his explanation for once and allowed him to continue.

He saw Saya leave with her class shortly after she had dressed back into her uniform and immediately regretted not getting to see her in the rest of her dresses. Maybe at the Zoo he would get to do so.

* * *

"Ah, it looked just like a romance novel," Kaori commented to Saya. "The way he gently untied the corset. It was so lovely!"

Saya blushed and looked down.

"And that style works well on you somehow," Kaori pointed out. "With his long hair and you in that dress, I'm sure some of the girls were thinking about how good of a couple you'd make."

Kaori pointed out and noticed that Saya had almost fallen asleep on her dinner plate.

"Should we go back to the room early? Maybe a bath would help?"

Saya shook her head and waved a hand at Kaori. "I just need rest is all. I'll be okay."

Kaori looked around, hoping the teacher would be there to ask for permission, but he was off somewhere. Finally, she called Haji directly, hoping he'd know what to do. The teacher seemed suspicious enough of him to prevent Saya from getting any help if he wasn't around. So what if Haji was her lover? It didn't mean he couldn't help her.

Unfortunately, before Haji could let Kaori and Saya into his room, it appeared the other class rep had already gotten the teacher.

"Otonashi-san," he greeted her. "Are you okay? Miyahara-san says you haven't been looking good this evening."

"I- I'm fine," she tried to assure him.

"Surely Mr. Goldschmidt would want you looked after," the teacher tried to convince her. "We should take you to the clinic."

"I don't need to go," Saya claimed. She was terrified of clinics – they would do a blood draw, and her blood wasn't something she wanted in the hands of any lab.

"I can't supervise you in Mr. Goldschmidt's room tonight due to a family issue I need to make some calls about. I won't be available for the rest of the night, so it would be less improper to bring you to a clinic where you can be supervised and evaluated," the teacher explained.

"We can stay with them until she's done getting checked up," Kaori insisted. "We'll call you if he brings her to the clinic."

"Mr. Goldschmidt seems to be a professional, if what we've seen so far is true," Ms. Miyahara added. "It should be no problem."

"Fine, as long as you stay there. If she doesn't look better by the time I'm back, we'll have to take her to a clinic," the teacher conceded. The two class representatives thanked him for his understanding and helped Saya into Haji's room.

Once they got inside, Saya lay herself down on the futon Haji had kept laid out on the floor. He asked Kaori to find one of the nightgowns Saya had surely packed with her. Kaori wasn't able to find one, so Haji was left with having Saya change into one of the yukatas the hotel provided for sleep. He found those rather immodest, due to their tendency to open in the night as Saya rolled around. That pleased him, but if the teacher saw her clothing arranged that way… Haji shuddered at the thought.

Kaori and her colleague sat just outside the door to the courtyard, waiting for Saya to change into her sleeping clothes. They had left Haji in the room with Saya in case something happened.

"Say, do you think Mr. Goldschmidt would do anything improper to her?" Aina, the other class rep, asked her partner.

"Why would I know that?" Kaori questioned her.

"You're really good friends with Saya. Since he lives with her family, I thought you'd know him," Aina explained.

"I've met him a couple times, though Kai's never said anything about him at all," Kaori said. "He's always seemed like a gentleman, so I wouldn't think he'd do anything to hurt her."

"Even some of the girls noticed it, though," Aina began.

"Noticed what?"

"The way they look at each other or communicate without words," Aina replied. "They look like lovers, more than just a girl and her father's employee she's close to."

"Are you asking something else then?" Kaori deduced.

"Do you think they'd sleep together?" Aina got to the point.

"I've never asked, and from what I've heard, even her family doesn't care enough to know. Whatever happened during that time she was gone seemed like it was really tough for her, so I figure that if he makes her feel better, he's what she needs," Kaori told her.

Aina nodded. "So you don't mind if anything happens between them? It's not a concern?"

"No," Kaori stated.

"And there's no chance something could reveal we weren't paying attention?"

"I wouldn't think so," Kaori replied. "Mr. Goldschmidt seems too smart to do anything too damning."

"Then I see no reason to stay here. Would you like to go take a bath instead?" Aina proposed. While Kaori often found the girl too nosy, bitchy, and self-serving to bear, tonight that attitude paid off.

Kaori opened the door a crack and spoke to the occupants without looking in. "We're going to the bath. We'll be back to bring Saya to bed in an hour or so!" And with that, they were out.

* * *

Inside the room, Haji helped Saya to fold her clothes as she removed them. When she began to put on the yukata, he closely watched her tying the belt. He knew the two other girls would come back in soon to make sure they didn't do anything stupid, so he went to get a dagger to cut his hand with.

"We're going to the bath. We'll be back… in an hour," Haji heard Kaori say through the door.

"I understand," he replied and looked back to Saya, who by now had sat down on the futon. As soon as he heard the sliding door to the courtyard shut he went to lock it. Then, he sat down next to Saya.

"So we have an hour?" Saya asked in French.

Haji kissed her and nodded. She responded to his kiss before beginning to move her mouth to his neck. He was anticipating her bite, but it didn't come. Instead she began to kiss down his neck to his chest and unbuttoned his shirt. His hands wound around her back and began to untie the belt of her yukata. As it pulled it off and let it fall to the ground next to the futon he eased her to the ground. Haji saw the front of her yukata fall open and began to kiss her again, more desperately.

Saya was having difficulty getting Haji's shirt off of his arms because he was so busy feeling her up. She broke the kiss and pushed him away to get the shirt off, leading to him taking his undershirt off. She pulled him to her and held her head against his bare chest.

"This is nice," She sighed. "I wish we could spend more time like this. Maybe if I'm still awake when we graduate high school, or the next time I wake up."

Saya thought Haji was reaching around to hug her, but instead he was going to unhook her bra.

"I didn't realize you were like this," Saya giggled. "I always thought you were a gentleman!"

"Then you obviously don't remember me at the Zoo," Haji laughed back at her. It felt so strange to laugh, as he didn't do it often, and even odder to do it during what should be a romantic moment. Somehow he found it freeing.

"Oh, I do," Saya said as she moved her head back up to peck him on the lips. After pulling back, Saya looked back into his eyes. Just when she had distracted Haji from his purpose – getting her blood – she sank her fangs into his neck.

"Of course," Haji groaned.

Saya finally released his neck and reached for his pants. "I'm not a spoiled brat any more, though."

"Sometimes I wish you were," Haji flirted. He was tempted to suggest this would've happened sooner on the trip if it was, but it was still odd for him to think of implying a woman enjoyed sex. Since he had stayed out of cultural change for over a century that was one change he was only just beginning to accept, and only with Saya's help.

Saya slowly helped him get his pants off before he began to explore her body. He attempted to eat her out after tending to her breasts, but he found that he wasn't skilled enough at it yet to get an orgasm out of her that way. He was sure she would be open to more practice. Finally, he entered her. As he picked up the pace he began to kiss her so she wouldn't make noise. The paper screen doors wouldn't hold much sound from either one of them, and her class was just across the way. They both quickly finished, still relatively new to sex and not caring how long they would last.

Afterwards, the two spent time cuddling under the cover of the futon.

"I should get dressed," Saya groaned out softly after what seemed like a short period of time. "Do you have any yukatas in your closet?"

Haji got up to look, but only began his search after throwing some tissues to Saya with which to wipe herself off. Haji opened the linen closed and found some small enough for her to wear. He handed one to her before grabbing a larger one for himself.

"Are you going to try to put one on now?" Saya asked. "Do you need any help?"

"No," he told her as he dressed back into his typical slacks and button-up shirt. "I'm going to the hot springs when they come to get you."

"They are nice," Saya commented while dressing. Haji saw her belt tied and moved to open the screen door facing the courtyard. That was his subtle attempt to waft out the smell of sex.

"Are you not going after this as well?" Haji questioned her, slightly surprised.

"Only just long enough to rinse off," Saya said. "We have a curfew."

"That's too bad," he sighed, feeling the sting of separation for the night.

Sure enough, Saya's classmates came to get her only a few minutes later.

* * *

 **A/N:** I could've added more to the end of this, but I felt 4000 words was already pretty long. I hope you enjoyed this! One or two more chapters left.


	7. Day 6: Staying In

A/N: More citrus here. Kaori's OOC because I think she's more of a perv than the story lets on because seriously she's obsessed in a creepy way with Saya.

Sorry this took so long. Between a busy school schedule and lack of ideas, I didn't write anything on this for a while.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 6: Staying In**

Haji left his room feeling better than he had all trip. The night before may have gone by quickly, but it felt great to have finally gotten to make love to Saya again. He was already itching to have her back at the hotel. It didn't seem her class representatives cared much for enforcing their separation.

His morning felt a little less bright when he ran into the teacher.

"Good morning, Mr. Goldschmidt," the teacher greeted. "How are you today?"

"Fine. And you?" He greeted as manners dictated.

"I'm doing well. Do you have any plans today?" Haji knew the teacher was probing his schedule after yesterday's incident.

"Saya's father has asked me to play at a garden brunch some of his colleagues are holding today, so I will be doing that," Haji informed him.

"Play? Like an instrument?"

"Yes, I play cello," Haji replied, not elaborating at all. He didn't feel it was necessary to explain anything to this man. "Do you have any plans?"

"Today's the last day here, so the students are free to explore. I believe most have decided to go to a district where many historical dramas have been filmed. I'm meeting with friends today."

"What time will you be back tonight?" Haji asked him, not knowing why he cared. He doubted Saya would agree to abandon her field trip for an afternoon in bed.

"The students need to be back by eight, so I'll be back around seven to make sure they've arrived back at the hotel. During the day I'll be near the hotel in case something goes wrong," the teacher explained to Haji. He looked Haji up and down with a suddenly intense and suspicious expression. "Although you seem to be taking good care of Saya. She appears much better today."

Haji thanked him, and wished him a good day before departing to begin preparations for the party. Unfortunately his own cello was currently undergoing maintenance while he was on the trip, so he was forced to rent one. Luckily, Joel had found a music store that specialized in antique and custom instruments that was willing to lend him a cello that matched his highly particular specifications. Haji wished he didn't – that meant he would have less time with Saya that day.

At the cello store, Haji began to try various cellos before finding the cello with the sound he liked most. It was slightly too small for him, but it would perfect for Saya. He wondered if he should spend the money to get it for her as a birthday present. If she fell asleep, he could just store it with the other antiques to be set up at the Zoo. After all, this cello was too beautiful to be passed up. On the wood beautiful roses were carefully painted with a dark stain. The bridge was similarly decorated with intricate designs.

Without any thought, he added it onto the rental bill for the cello that was more appropriate for someone his size and left to play the party. Surely the fee he'd negotiated for playing the party would cover the cello. If it didn't, he had saved plenty of money over the years. Not needing to eat and not caring to have a roof over your head did that to your wallet.

* * *

After the party, Haji swiftly returned his rented cello to the shop and completed the process to have Saya's new cello shipped to Okinawa. He had the afternoon off, so he decided to go down some of the streets he had been down the previous nights when Saya had not stayed with him. For him, back alleys in the middle of the night were not scary – they were a habit.

Walking through one alley out to a shopping district, he noticed Saya and some friends looking at charms outside a shop. He tried to walk by unnoticed, but as an attractive foreigner in town during a time that was not prime tourist season he was easy to spot.

"Mr. Goldschmidt!" One of the girls with Saya called. Haji didn't recognize her, but he assumed all the girls knew his adopted last name by now and that's why she was calling him. In reaction to the girl's call, Saya turned around. Her face showed a look of surprise.

"Haji," Saya whispered out, only audible to the ears of a chiropteran such as Haji himself.

"It's nice to see you," Haji greeted in Japanese, acknowledging Saya's peers. He walked towards them, trying to be polite, but had no intention to follow them around.

"What are you doing this afternoon?" Kaori questioned Haji.

"I am sightseeing, now that I have an opportunity to do so," Haji explained.

"Would you like to hang out with us?" Kaori asked Haji. "We were about to go to Karaoke."

"I'm not sure your teacher would find that appropriate," Haji said honestly.

"It's not like he's here to see you, and none of us will tell him," Kaori encouraged him. The other girls nodded, agreeing with Kaori. Saya was the only one who remained neutral, waiting to see what Haji would say.

Saya whispered something into Kaori's ear, to which Kaori nodded.

"Actually, I think we saw something back there you might be interested in," Kaori told Haji. "Why don't we go check it out?"

Saya looked at Haji with as close to a pleading expression as she could get before walking after Kaori. That surprised Haji. He couldn't help but wonder what her motive was.

"If it will only be a few minutes," he sighed. Saya had told him not to follow her wishes to the word, but he still felt compelled to when she gave him such a cute expression.

"I told Kaori you didn't like karaoke," Saya explained to him in French on their walk. "So she's just wandering, trying to find something you'd like to do with us."

"I see," he said. "Honestly, I'd love to do anything you'd love to do." He wouldn't add that he wished it was a private date.

Saya got up onto her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "I would love to do you," she said in French, using the best 19th Century French Bordeaux accent she could muster. Since regaining her memories, her French had become modern – she hoped reverting to the old way would turn Haji on. It was tough for her to find out how to turn him on, or more accurately, she didn't notice when she'd succeeded.

Haji used his years of self-restraint to suppress a blush. He knew he couldn't get her to leave with him. He was grateful that he still wore stiff dress pants that would not betray the desire Saya had sparked in him.

Before he knew it, they were standing outside of a shop where tourists could be dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. Currently, Kaori was explaining what she wanted to the shop owner while Saya stood nearby looking at the collection of bright kimonos for her to wear.

"This is an attraction popular with foreign tourists," Kaori told Haji. "I figure that since I've never seen Saya in a proper kimono and you're from France, this might be a good souvenir to bring home!"

"But- pictures? The teacher's going to freak out if he sees them," One of the girls whispered harshly.

"I think that would be a fun souvenir – to have a picture in the clothes of every country you visit," Kaori tried to justify it. "Anyways, it's not like the teacher will ever visit The Omoro to see the pictures."

Although they would never explain it to her, both Haji and Saya felt this would be a fitting souvenir to bring back. Her original room at the Zoo had been filled with paintings and pictures of landmarks Saya would never have been able to travel to. All those years ago, Saya had asked Haji if they would eventually be able to cover the walls in pictures they had taken on their travels.

"Well, I suppose it's time to begin our collection of portraits," Haji said to Saya in French, acknowledging the memory he hoped she was thinking of. He saw Saya blush, and knew she was on the same page.

"I don't see why not," Saya told Kaori. "We can arrange to have the photos e-mailed to us so that we wouldn't be carrying the pictures around."

Honestly, they hadn't realized it would require this much dressing up.

Haji felt like Saya must have the day before as he was stripped and dressed in traditional Japanese garb. The girls helped Saya get into a kimono. She rarely wore them, even in Okinawa, because her family was more aligned with America culturally than they were Japan. Therefore, when they met outside their changing areas, he was surprised with how beautiful she looked. The clothing wasn't his style (it showed no curves), but the colors matched her complexion perfectly. His slate and blue ensemble and the high pony tail that accompanied it (much to his embarrassment) matched his coloring just as well.

The two of them were posed in close poses, so Haji knew this would be a set of pictures for the couple's photo album as opposed to a wall. Luckily, Japanese posing was as conservative as that in the West, so there were no romantic or compromising poses, so some photos would fit their purpose. When they were asked to kiss or do a more modern (and therefore suggestive) pose, both parties declined and the photographer moved on.

Just as they were finishing up, Saya tripped over her feet. She placed her hand on the counter up front to brace herself so that she didn't fall down and placed a hand over her face as if she was dizzy. Haji couldn't sense that anything was wrong, and that made him more worried for her. There wasn't any reason she should be ill – she'd had a good amount of blood the night before and she was well fed. Perhaps she was feeling sleepy once again, but he didn't think her hibernation period would come on this quickly after subsiding.

"Saya," he said softly, as he often did when concerned for her safety. She didn't look up at him. He reached out to help her before he realized what he was doing and let Saya's friends be the first to touch her.

Kaori rushed to Saya asking if she was alright. Saya replied in a weak voice that she was okay, but she didn't sound the part. Her behavior was beginning to worry Haji.

Kaori pulled Haji aside while Saya sat down in front of the desk. The other girls had begun to take the outer layers of Saya's ensemble off to let her cool down. "After you two get changed, you should take her back to the hotel. She needs rest," Kaori asserted. Haji agreed with her assessment, wanting to know what was wrong with his queen. "I'll tell the teacher where she is if she's not back in the girls' room when he returns. Why don't I arrange the pictures to get sent to you while you go change?"

Haji thanked Kaori before going to change into his normal clothing.

Coming out of the changing room in her school uniform, Saya began to wobble, so Haji put an arm around her shoulders to help her stay steady. He quickly paid for his pictures with a credit card Joel had gotten him and ushered Saya out as her friends watched.

He slowly walked her back to the hotel, but as soon as they were back to his room with the door shut and locked, Saya seemed cured. She used some of the superhuman strength she'd gotten from the blood last night to get him over to the futon and began to kiss him enthusiastically. He started to moan into her lips, but stopped himself to ask Saya what had happened. He now had an idea, but he needed to know for sure.

"Were you really feeling ill?" Haji asked as soon as he pulled away.

Saya blushed and shook her head. She buried her head in his neck before speaking. "No. I just- well, I needed a reason to be alone with you."

Haji wondered what had happened. He couldn't even imagine Saya in her days at the Zoo would feign illness to gain time in bed with him.

"Is something wrong then?" Haji asked her. "It's not like you to be so bold."

"I noticed you've been staring at me all trip. I wasn't planning to, but after last night, and after running into you today, I decided that I should allow you some relief for all your hard work his week," Saya said.

Haji pushed Saya off his chest so he could stare in her face. "You are too good to me sometimes, Saya." He pulled her head off his shoulder and pressed his lips back to hers.

Their kisses became more fervent before Haji realized he must be wrinkling her uniform, so he worked quickly to get it off. As he did so, he wondered if Japanese hotels had irons. He didn't know if he cared after his long work week. Although he wouldn't have to answer to the teacher after the next morning, Haji decided that Saya's reputation was important enough to carefully lay the uniform out so it wouldn't wrinkle on the floor. Before he could fold them, Saya had yanked him back to the futon.

Now that his sole concern about propriety was taken care of, he let Saya take the lead.

* * *

Shortly after seven, there was a stern knock on the door. Haji, snuggled up with Saya on the futon, was surprised before he checked his watch. As soon as he did, he began to calmly freak out. At least the door was locked so the teacher couldn't barge in.

"Mr. Goldschmidt? I heard Saya was looking ill earlier and had to return here with you. Is she alright?" The teacher's voice asked through the door.

Haji dressed as quietly as he could (which, considering his past, was very quiet), but felt compelled to answer before he opened the door. "I'm letting her sleep for now," Haji informed him. "I'll be going out to get her food soon, as she seems very hungry."

"Good to hear. Will she be back in the lobby by eight then?"

"If she is feeling better. If she is not, I will tell you," Haji assured him. He wasn't sure he wanted to let Saya go, but it was for the best. He'd waited long enough that waiting 24 hours after an afternoon of lovemaking shouldn't feel long, but it did.

He sighed and turned to Saya as he heard the teacher walking down the hall.

"That was close," Saya sighed back. She was already mostly into her uniform.

"I'll go get you a meal from the restaurant across the street. I'll be back." Haji kissed her and moved out of the room.

To waft the smell of sex out of the room in case her teacher returned, Saya opened the courtyard door. She went back to the futon and made it up. She then grabbed one of Haji's books and settled in at the table.

By the time Haji got back, she only had twenty minutes to eat, so she found herself eating quickly. Shortly before eight, Haji ushered her out of the room and watched her leave for the lobby. With a huff, he lay down on futon and grabbed the book Saya had been reading.

Once in the lobby and checked in with the teacher (which led to no questions, much to her surprise), Saya made for the baths. She knew despite Haji's best attempts to clean up her appearance while she ate, she still smelled somewhat weird. Although she could smell it, she didn't know if that was due to her heightened senses or if a normal human could smell whatever lingered on her skin. At least the teacher didn't notice.

As she took off her clothes in the empty changing room outside the spring, she took inventory of her appearance. Her clothes were not too wrinkled considering her day, which relieved her, and her hair was smoother than earlier due to Haji's combing. The hickies and bites he'd given her had already healed as expected. Everything was in its place until she pulled her panties down. She realized that in all the cuddling they'd done and her subsequent hurry to make herself presentable for the teacher, she had not wiped any of the mess that had accumulated from their long afternoon in bed. Frantically she looked around for something to use, hoping that her classmates wouldn't come in. Thankfully someone had accidentally left a pack of tissues on a shelf, so she grabbed a few and cleaned herself up as best she could before anyone showed up.

Unfortunately, just as she was finishing up, Kaori entered the changing area.

"How was your afternoon?" Kaori asked with a cheeky grin.

Saya blushed and hurried to throw away the last tissue. "G- good! After I slept, I started feeling much better."

"Slept? With Haji?" Kaori raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"N- no! It's not like that," Saya insisted. Still, Kaori was not convinced.

"Then why did you fake feeling faint so you could go back to the hotel with him? And why were you wiping a mysterious white liquid off your thighs?"

"T- that," Saya tried to respond, but wilted into herself.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," Kaori assured Saya. "Not even Kai. Haji's really important to you, and he's done so much for you. Of course you love him, and of course you have that kind of relationship."

Saya opened her mouth to thank Kaori, but was stopped when Kaori began to speak again.

"And you two are such a cute couple! It's adorable how much he loves you."

Saya turned her head away and her blush somehow got deeper. Kaori was done taking her clothes off, so they moved to the spring together so they could wash up.

Once in the bathing area, Kaori resumed the conversation, but kept her voice to a whisper so the echos wouldn't reach anyone in the neighboring springs.

"How many times did you do it today, though? I heard it leaks out after, but that was a lot you cleaned off," Kaori questioned.

Saya was too embarrassed to wonder how long Kaori had actually been in the changing room before she noticed.

"I know you wouldn't tell me," Kaori laughed. "Just be more careful next time. Think of what would have happened if one of those bitchy girls walked in and not me."

"Next time? This is the last night of the trip," Saya thought out loud.

"I mean, even though I'm sure Kai knows about you two by now, he wouldn't want to see any of the evidence," Kaori explained.

Saya nodded.

"Although, I wonder if Kai's trying to deny it or not," Kaori pondered.

Thankfully, Saya didn't have to answer as more of her female classmates entered the room.

"Saya! Are you feeling better?" One asked. Well, if she had to answer questions, at least these were less embarrassing.

* * *

Haji was just finishing up a chapter of his newest book on historical cello playing techniques when the teacher knocked on his door once more.

Because it was his last night and there was no need for the futon to be out, he had folded it up and put it back into the closet where the cleaning crew could find it to wash for the next guest. He had left the door to the courtyard open to waft out any remaining suspicious smell. Haji had even put on a fresh set of clothes to wear before a final soak in the bath that night. Yes, everything was in its place.

"It is unlocked. Come in," Haji called out. Feeling weird that for once he was the one giving permission for someone to come into his room. That had always been Saya's job in the past. The door slid open and the teacher entered the hotel room.

"It's nice to see you. How did your performance go today?" The teacher asked, as if to confirm his alibi. He sat down across the table from Haji.

"It went smoothly," Haji said.

"You seem to be very competent at everything you do, so I would assume so," the teacher responded. Haji wasn't sure if he should take it as a complement or not. Competent did not mean he was good. "I came by to ask what happened with Saya today. Some of the girls said she looked faint."

"Yes. On my way home from the engagement, I ran into Saya and her friends. We noticed she was wobbling and lightheaded, so they asked me to take her back to the hotel to rest," Haji explained. "I took her here and let her rest. After giving her plenty of water to drink, she appeared better."

"Ah, so she was probably just dehydrated," the teacher confirmed.

"As far as I understand it," Haji lied.

"No wonder they have you here to watch over her," the teacher sighed. "She's already sickly, so you have to maintain her health well. I've always heard that she had health troubles, but I didn't realize that she would faint from dehydration. Do you know what her diagnosis is?"

Haji tried to remember the "diagnosis" Julia had given him to use, but he was having trouble remembering. "I don't know what the diagnosis is."

"I suppose not," the teacher said. "I was a medical student before I decided to pursue teaching, so I thought I knew what was wrong, but I guess if you don't know I'll be left to wonder."

"I did not realize you had that background," Haji said.

"I don't advertise it."

Haji didn't want to talk any more, quite annoyed by the interruption in his schedule for such a minor issue. "If you don't mind, I was planning to go to the hot spring for a bath tonight."

"I might see you there, then," the teacher responded.

Haji held back a groan. How he wished to be rid of this man. "Perhaps. Good night," Haji said politely, but with a flat affect to indicate no warmth towards the teacher. The next afternoon couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

 **A/N:** All done! One more (likely short) chapter to go on this story.


	8. Day 7: Returning

A/N: Last chapter! (Minus a possible epilogue). This will be relatively short.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Day 7: Returning**

Saya's class waited near an airport gate once more. Their flight was booked for an early morning departure, leading many of the students to appear weary. Although teacher was nursing a cup of coffee he had bought at the gate, he appeared on the edge of sleep.

Haji was the only one in the terminal who appeared wide awake, and only because he couldn't sleep. Sometimes he wished he could feel tired – it felt rather uncomfortable to be the only awake person in the room. He could keep a good eye on Saya, but that didn't do him much good at the moment. All he could do was sneak glances at her sleeping face nestled into Kaori's shoulder. Unfortunately, the teacher used what energy he had to watch Haji. It didn't help that the teacher had taken a seat directly beside Haji.

"Did you sleep well?" Haji asked, deciding to annoy the teacher in his half-asleep state.

"Ah- uh- yes! Yes, I did," The teacher said, started but groggy.

"The morning felt earlier after such a long trip," Haji commented. Despite not being able to sleep, he still appreciated not leaving before the sun was up.

"It did, didn't it?" The teacher responded. "Unfortunately it's the only flight that works with our budget and schedule."

"I see," Haji said. He pondered whether he should offer the teacher a first class seat on a separate plane using Joel's credit card, but decided against it. He knew he had another trick up his sleeve. "Would you like my first class seat on this flight? I believe you could use the bed more than I need it."

The teacher was obviously trying to say no, but he gave in. Once on the plane, Haji knew he would be able to negotiate with Saya's classmates for a seat next to Saya. Half the girls had an obvious crush on him, and those would be the easiest to deal with, but he could find various methods of moving others out of the way if necessary. Now he had to wait to see who he would have to go through for the seat of his choice.

* * *

Haji was thankful when he saw one of the girls sit in the row with Kaori and Saya. He was easily able to trade his seat (closer to the front of the economy section but still surrounded by other students from the class) with the girl's spot. When he sat down, Saya looked rather surprised.

"Haji? I thought Joel put you in first class," Saya asked.

"I traded with the teacher," Haji said. In French he added, "So I wouldn't have to see him during the flight, but so that I could still see you."

Saya blushed. "Thank you." She looked around to see if anyone was looking. Kaori appeared to be asleep, and the students in the row across the aisle from them were caught up in conversation. Saya took the opportunity to place her hand on Haji's lap to grab his own hand. As the plane took off, she squeezed his hand carefully.

"Do you think we'll be able to fly like this on our own vacations someday?" Saya asked him in French.

Haji turned to look at her and nodded stoically. His calm exterior hid the excitement he felt at the prospect of a vacation with Saya. Before he could express his sentiment in words, a weight dropped on his shoulder – a weight he knew was Saya's head. After their exertion the day before, he had no desire to interrupt her sleep, so he sat and stared out the window, content to stare at the seat in front of him for the rest of the flight.

* * *

Upon landing each student was being picked up at the airport by their own family. For Haji and Saya that meant Kai was coming in his brand new van to get them. By the time Haji had gotten to the baggage claim, he had found the teacher talking to Kai. Instead of approaching he used his chiropteran hearing to listen into their conversation.

"-yesterday, when she fainted from dehydration," the teacher said. Haji assumed he was discussing Saya's health with Kai.

"That's good then. She wasn't too sleepy?" Kai joked. Well, to those who knew it wasn't a joke, but the teacher found it funny. Haji wondered if the teacher had ever had Kai as a student.

"No, no. She was fine. Haji did a good job of taking care of her," the teacher said. Finally, Haji had heard something good come out of the teacher's mouth. He wondered why he cared so much now that his interactions with Saya were not being monitored by the man.

"Haji's too perfect at everything," Kai sighed. That was more unexpected praise.

"I was wondering why David gave him such high praise as a professional until I saw him work," the teacher said. "With his intelligence and professionalism one doesn't have to wonder why he's so busy with tasks for the Goldschmidt family."

"Yeah, well, he's had a lot of time to learn it," Kai explained.

"I suppose so. All I ever saw him do was read and work," the teacher informed Kai. "I did not believe the suggestion that he was as professional towards Saya as David implied, so I gave him plenty of opportunities to break my trust. It was impressive that he didn't." At least to the teacher's knowledge, Haji thought. Honestly he was surprised they had gotten away with their return to the hotel the afternoon before.

"He's a good guy," Kai commented. "We all trust him with Saya's life, even if it took me a long time to admit that."

"He does seem to have a thing for Saya, so I would advise that you look for him to make a move on your watch. Even if you trust him, something about him strikes me as odd."

Oh, Kai knew what was odd (he was an immortal Frenchman, so oddness was expected), and that Haji and Saya would be in a romantic relationship soon if they weren't already. "Thanks for the advice," he blatantly lied. "Well, I gotta go, looks like Saya's got her luggage."

Haji, pretending to be surprised by Kai's arrival, turned around at the last possible second to greet him. "Hello, Kai."

"Well, the teacher totally knows you two are fucking," Kai said in his best French.

Haji and Saya both opened up their mouths, shocked at Kai's words. Neither one knew that he knew about their relationship.

"I'm just kidding. He thought you were great, Haji," Kai corrected himself. "C'mon, let's get you two home. I bet you're both ready for some rest, but make sure to keep the door open." He laughed, telling the couple that the comment about their door was another joke.

Saya's blush deepened, while Haji struggled to maintain his composure.

"Welcome home, guys," Kai finally greeted them.

"We're home," Saya replied in turn. Truly, she was finally home. Not only was she with her family, but she was also free to be with the person that felt most like home: Haji.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed. Happy Holidays!


	9. Epilogue

A/N: An epilogue! In the true tradition of me being bad at structuring stories, the epilogue is longer than the last chapter by a good amount.

Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+

* * *

 **Epilogue**

Shigeru was enjoying his retirement from teaching. In the two years since his retirement he had already taken several trips overseas, including a tour across the United States and an art history lecture series in London.

Now he was finally going to France. He could easily recall the strange situation only five years before when a student from a French family had brought an employee of her family along on the field trip. Halfway through the year the girl had to drop out altogether due to her medical condition. He was still curious as to what she suffered from. Although he recalled being suspicious about their relationship, which put him on edge, he found the employee to be nice enough. The man was an interesting one who had obviously accomplished much despite his young age.

One of those accomplishments was having a role in restoring historical sites in France. When Shigeru had heard that a newly restored and rather infamous estate was reopening, he began to plan his trip. Unfortunately tours for the first few months were already sold out, so he was unable to get a tour until the following spring. The flowers would be blooming at least, making for better photos to take home. He wondered if he would run into the employee at any of the historical sites he'd planned to visit in France.

Now he was finally pulling up to the estate in a carriage. This was the last (and most anticipated) stop on Shigeru's trip, so he had booked the first mansion tour in the morning. They would then have a garden tour and lunch before an evening tour of the grounds. All in all, he thought it was a very good deal.

His wife, tired as she was, was slightly less excited. She had asked him to book the most expensive tour – an overnight one where the guests were allowed to stay in a special guest wing and were treated as if they were the guests of the family that had once lived there. Unfortunately, there were only five spots offered for one night a week, and the cost was above budget, so Shigeru decided against it. Now he was left facing an incredibly sleepy wife because they were forced to stay so far from the estate.

Now the cobwebs of a sleepy morning were brushed off as he saw the beautiful architecture of the gate house and the statues waiting beyond. The small building was truly breathtaking. He couldn't wait to get his camera out.

Once through the gate house (now serving as a ticket booth), he began to take pictures of the plaza with its fountain and statues. He was vaguely listening to the tour guide (who was speaking in English), but one name popped out of the guide's speech: Goldschmidt. That reminded him of one of the questions a Japanese guidebook sparked in him. Goldschmidt had been the last name of the employee the sick girl's family had hired. Perhaps he did have a hand in this, or maybe it was just a common enough name in Europe. Living on Okinawa, his English was good enough to get by, but he still had to think about how he would word his question.

As if he was one of the students in his class, he held his hand up. "Does the Goldschmidt family still own the house?"

At first the guide looked a little confused, perhaps because she had just answered the question while he was not paying attention, but then spoke the answer slowly and simply to account for Shigeru's lack of fluency in English. "Yes. The land is donated to France as a park. The family owns the house, but allows the park to operate it. Sometimes they stay here."

It was an explanation Shigeru understood. He wondered if he would see Saya here – after all, this was her adoptive family. It was unlikely, but he wondered if he'd be more likely to see one Haji Goldschmidt.

"They actually stay here a lot," a man said in Japanese. "I've gone on tours here twice before, and both times the daughter of the family was staying here."

"Is there a way to tell?" Shigeru asked him.

"When we get up to the family's rooms, perhaps. They have The Queen's room and The Diva's room. If the daughter is staying, she stays in The Queen's room, so it's closed off visitors," the man explained. "I keep coming hoping to see the real thing."

"The real thing?"

"Ah, well, in the original mansion, there was only The Queen's room. The other room was a normal bedroom, but because The Queen's room would be shut off sometimes, they made The Diva's room as a replica for tour groups to see. I live near enough that I can come when I want, so I thought I'd try today."

"I see," Shigeru replied. He asked the man why he spoke Japanese, and the man explained that he had done international business with Japanese companies before deciding to buy a vineyard. Now he sold fine French wines to Japanese restaurants and businesses. After their short conversation, Shigeru got back to listening (or trying to listen to) the tour guide.

After a tour of various parts of the building, the tour arrived at the family bedrooms. The businessman sighed with disappointment as he saw a closed pair of doors.

"The Queen's room is not open today because the owner's daughter and her boyfriend arrived late last night," the tour guide apologized. She instead directed them to look into a room with a very blue color scheme and began to explain the features of the room and information about the girl who had lived in its twin long ago. Shigeru picked up on one section of her speech in particular. "She was very sick throughout her life and received treatment devised by Joel himself, which is what likely began the rumors about Joel carrying out deadly experiments. Because of her chronic illness, other members of society thought it would be impossible for her to look as healthy as she did without some sort of reprehensible medical experimentation. Some said she looked younger than her manservant, who was 22 at the time of the incident, although this is likely an exaggeration."

It was certainly interesting that the daughter of the Goldschmidt family back then had also had a chronic illness and had adopted a manservant into the family to care for her. Shigeru wondered if it was a genetic illness. Perhaps the family also had a tradition of adopting boys to be highly trained and controlled employees, as sad as it was. He brushed off that thought.

The creak of a door hinge behind them caused the group to look over at The Queen's room. A middle-aged blonde woman exited the room before closing the door. Unfortunately, no one could see much inside other than red walls and a couple black and white photographs hanging on them.

He didn't see anything suspicious for the rest of the tour, and there was no sign that Haji was there or even related to the place.

That is, until the grounds tour in the evening. Off on the edge of the woods he noticed two figures emerge from a poorly cut trail. The first, a woman with long black hair, looked eerily like Saya, his former student. He didn't confirm it was her until a man he recognized as Haji followed her out. They ran past the tour group, ignoring them entirely, off in their own little world of silence. Despite their modern running attire, Shigeru wondered if he was seeing ghosts from the estate's past. No one else even turned to look at them. Before he could ask his wife if she had seen them, they were gone.

He wondered why he cared so much. He knew he shouldn't. All of those drawn into the tangle of Saya's life – Mao, Kai, and even her own younger brother – hadn't come out of the situation right. Deep down he wondered if he should leave the property as soon as possible and never return. Still, there was some allure in the mystery of what was happening to Saya. He knew it was an allure that he would have to leave behind, and this would be the end of it.

Leaving that night after dark and looking back at the imposing mansion and the concrete fountain in front, he knew he wouldn't return. He knew he wouldn't figure out the mystery. He wouldn't even figure out if Saya and Haji were actually in a relationship. But, perhaps just like the building, the mystery wasn't meant to be revisited.

* * *

 **A/N:** The end! I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
